Hi all! As promised last week, I'm back with Round 2 of meal planning. After a very successful week of yummy recipes in Round 1, I've got a new lineup set for the week and ready to share the love with all of you. But before the main event, I figured I would share a review of one of my favorite new dinner jams just tried for the first time.

I had more than a few of you comment on my Facebook page (love your comments, by the way, keep 'em coming!) that you were eager to try the Chicken, Apple, Sweet Potato Skillet I linked last Monday. I'm not sure if you've gotten around to trying it yet or how you felt about it if you did, but it was a huge hit in our house. Nutritious, flavorful, and filling, it checked all three of my biggest culinary boxes. All three of my boys gobbled it up which, unfortunately, made for very few left overs.

The only addition I made to the given recipe was a dollop of sour cream on the top of the individual portions. The combination of the creaminess and the cinnamon, garlic, and other savory spices added a really nice balance. Also, the chicken is really just complimentary to the overall dish so vegetarians could easily delete the meat and not be disappointed. If anyone of you tried it, I would love to know what you thought! It will definitely be making a second appearance on our table.

Have to say that the Slow-Cooker Chicken Carnitas and Slow-Cooker Beef Tips were both smashing successes as well. (The carnitas even got thumbs up from a handful of Army football players -- and somehow we still had plenty leftover for the rest of us!) As for the beef tips, I ended up skipping the rice and substituted left-over french fries as the base for the shredded beef instead. Before you cringe at the idea, I have to tell you -- it was delicious. Covering the fries with the leftover gravy from the beef? Shut-the-front-door good. Not necessarily the healthiest option, but after spending 4 hours at the hockey rink it was an easy trade to make since it got my boys into bed 30 minutes earlier. Hey listen - you win some, you lose some. We celebrate the small victories around here!

Heading into our second full week running the hamster wheel the regular routine, here is what I have planned for this week:

Once again, several newbies in the lineup this week. I think I'm most looking forward to the breakfast pizza and steak salad, simply because they involve so many of my favorite ingredients. Something you will probably notice in the coming weeks is my fondness for brinner; which is a fancy word meaning "breakfast for dinner." There's something so comforting about breakfast food that I really love incorporating it into a work week.

Will be sure to report back on both the winners and the losers of these guys next week! As always, you can find all of these recipes and links on my on my Pinterest page, so be sure to hop on over there and give me a follow.